A Dance with Fire
by Fire and Meth
Summary: Cerena is a daughter of a Lord, a Lord of an Island, that was burnt down by The Mad King. Now living as wards of the Lannisters, she must find herself and what she fights for in the dangers of the court. The story will diverge from the original plot of Game of Thrones typically after the events of season 1.
1. Cerena I

Cerena

It was sunset, the orange light poured through her chambers, illuminating everything into the most beautiful shades of red and gold. The birds outside sang such sweet songs and the warm breeze gently pushed the red curtains that hung in front of her windows back and forth. She wore an elegant black and gold summer dress, one that she'd made herself, even the metal work. It had a black bodice that held a silver piece around her waist with golden skirts and sleeves embroidered with patterns of feathers that echoed the colour of her eyes. She let her black, curly hair loose around her shoulders and her mother's fire red necklace about her slender neck. Gendry sat across the table from her, his sharp blue eyes, staring intently at the board whilst his hands ran through his black hair, lost in thought over what his next move should be. As of now, Gendry had taken out every one of Cerena's important chess pieces; it wasn't long until he won the game. Though Gendry won almost every time they played together, she still enjoyed playing with him as he'd usually give her tips and such to help her improve, he was kind like that. Stubborn, but also kind.

"Hurry now, before winter comes." She joked and earned a chuckle from him.

"You should hurry and beat me before winter comes Mi-." He tried to cut himself off but it was too late, she already knew. She had learned to hide it well but whenever he said milady like that, a great sadness unearthed itself in her mind. Milady was the word that stopped him and her getting married, it's the word that reminds her that she can't love this man that she chose to fall in love with, it's the word that tells her she can't love freely.

The knocking at the door broke her stream of thoughts. It was a messenger boy carrying a sealed letter. She examined the seal to find the sigil of her own house, a phoenix flying in a ring of fire with ashes behind it serving as a background. The ashes of the sigil was a recent affair, she thought to herself, it all happened when The Mad King was on the throne, back before I was even born. Before the King had wildfire planted all over the capital, he'd ordered wildfire to be planted in secret all over Quervos - more commonly known as the Sister isle - , was a small Island that lay towards the south between Essos and Westeros in the narrow sea, beside Brother isle. Days before the great fire my father received a warning from Jaime Lannister instructing him of what was about to befall. That was enough time to tell all his people to flee to wherever they could, Essos or Westeros, it didn't matter. After the war was over, and everyone had settled down, my family had been invited to Westeros to live as wards of the Lannisters, though the King doesn't like us too much, ' too close to the Targaeryans,' he'd said one drunken night, and now my father is an advisor in the Small Council and the royal smith and I live in the King's castle. Every cloud has a silver lining she thought, smiling to herself.

"Speaking of winter," she paused, reading through the letter. "The King is heading north to Winterfell in a few weeks, naturally, as wards my family are invited too. Do you know much about the north?" She asked.

"Apart from it being very cold, no." Gendry replied, now paying full attention to her. "Why do you think the King is heading up there?"

"My father says it is to ask Lord Stark to become the new Hand of the King. Apparently the King and and him grew up together." I wonder how fast Eddard will find out Cersei's little secret she thought and did not dare to speak, the Queen has countless spies all around the castle, had they heard her say that, her head would be on a spike as quick as sunset. From the look on Gendry's face she could tell he was thinking the same thing. "On a final note, we've got swords to make as gifts for the Starks starting tomorrow; one for Theon Greyjoy and the other for Lord Eddard's son, Robb Stark," She announced. "As for me, I've got to make a dress for the Sansa Stark, Lord Stark's eldest daughter." She finished before rolling the letter up and delicately placing it on her work table across the room. She paused for a moment whilst leaning her hands on the table; My father has been interested in me marrying... the swords would make a good impression on the Starks, is it possible he would want me to marry Theon? Or possibly even Robb?

"It's getting dark, I should leave before any rumours spread about you and me." Gendry said hastily as he began to pack up their game. She turned around, still leaning against the table and laughed to herself about Gendry's comment.

"I suppose it wouldn't do either of us good if anyone starts believe you took my maidenhead." He frowned at her words.

"You thinks that's some sort of joke? First of all, if I did take your maidenhead, which I won't, my head would be on a spike quick as spit and you'd have to marry some fat old Lord from an unimportant house." He spat angrily.

"Marrying Jon Arryn wasn't that bad for Lysa Tully. Now she's essentially Lady of the Vale with thousands of men at her command," She shot back.

"There you go again! Always having to find the bright side of every situation!" He shouted.

"You try having all your lands burnt down and all the men that once followed you scattered across the world probably rotting in the red waste or slaves to the Dothraki! You try living at court always afraid if something you said or had done made you have another enemy! I try to make a bright side to everything so I can cope, so I can live on and not break down every time I look back at my life. Don't you understand?"

"You try being a bastard all your life and have your mother die when you were still at her breast and having a father you never knew. You try living in fear as to whether you'll have any food that day or the next. You go and try to find a bright side to my life!" He was yelling by now. She could see he was truly pissed off as his features were full of fury. He must've had it hard all his life before now. Ours is the fury, Gendry you are a true Baratheon. A tense silence fell upon the room as night fell and darkness devoured the light. He stood his ground, angry as a bull, anticipating some cunning and witty reply.

"You have me, isn't that a bright side? We gave you food and shelter, even clothes! We gave you means of earning money, and I taught you how to read and write. Gendry, we practically raised you, isn't that a bright side" She asked, her voice was starting to crack. His eyes widened and an expression of guilt and realisation crossed his face.

"Please forgive me Cerena, I never meant to upset you and I certainly didn't mean to yell... what you said is true, without your family, I'd probably be dead by now, and for that I'm forever indebted to you" He said awkwardly, holding her hand in his and kissing it lightly as a means of comfort. He's so sweet and gallant and yet I cannot marry him... the world is truly twisted. She took a step forward, rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms about his waist. It took a second before he hugged her back. The gesture wasn't so much for comfort, but more so because she just wanted to know what it felt like, to be in a man's arms. They stood there like that for a while, she felt his heart beat and his chest rise and fall, that was when she truly knew. I love you she wanted to say, but no words came out. And with that he began to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he called out behind him.

"For the night is dark," She managed to say.

"And full of terrors." He finished.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one will include some of the most hated characters and some of my own (Cerena's family). If you want anything cleared up, just send me the question and I'll answer it pronto!


	2. Gendry I

Gendry

Their swords had clashed five times, five bloody times before she had won for the eighth time this morning. Gendry was on his backside in the mud whilst she poised her wooden practise against his throat. Cerena had a smug look on her face and he knew exactly what it meant. "I yield, I yield." He announced quietly in shame.

"What was that? I'm sorry I didn't quite hear it." She mocked him, poking him in the face with the sword, laughing all the while.

"I yield godammit!" He said louder. She finally stopped once she had her fill of fun. "How did you get so good at sword fighting?" He asked whilst picking himself up from the ground and declining a hand from Lady Cerena, an act that was only meant to further embarrass him, and dusting the mud off his breeches and shirt.

"I work at it all the time, not always with swords though. My father told me that a good dancer makes a good swords man and that's why women should do the fighting or so he believes. When I danced with Ser Jaime on Joffrey's last name day, I believed my father's reckoning to be true, he was such a good dancer," She explained whilst picking up Gendry's sword that had been flung across the grounds in the fight. He rolled his eyes as she dreamily talked about the Lannister. She'd always had some sort of crush on the knight, probably because he saved her family's life.

"Well it does make sense, most of the best swords men do look like women, Ser Jaime Lannister, Ser Loras Tyrell."

"That's a fair point, though there's a lot more to it than just looking like a woman" She lightly chuckled. "You ought to get changed when we get back, you look a state." He looked down on his thin lightly coloured shirt to see mud and grass stains all over it.

It was a short walk back to the Smith's filled with banter between the two best friends. As soon as they arrived Gendry headed straight for his ornate chambers to change out of his soiled shirt and breeches. He flung his dirty clothes over a chair and took some time to admire his own work, the Bull's helmet. He smiled before putting the helmet on its place on the table. This sword practise session had become a morning routine just before work and he enjoyed it all the same, even if he was completely beaten all the time. After all, he still thrashed her at chess. As he head down the stairs he heard voices, he stopped and listened in. **_Joffrey, I hate that little cunt_. _Every time he visits he thinks he has the right to disgrace me, it's a wonder how Cerena puts up with his shitty behaviour. _**

"I demand a great sword to be made. Its to slay my enemies with, it has to have a golden hilt embroidered with rubies and emeralds." The royal cunt said, he sure did love all things pretty. Joffrey and Cerena stood by the front entrance of the shop, the boy wore even finer silks than her golden dress, his mother's doing no doubt. **_I wonder if he'll ever figure out that his mother has been dressing him as a girl, or perhaps he needs to be told._** Fine weapons hung on the walls of the shop, ranging from crossbows to lances all displayed in order, some of them Gendry had made himself.

"You wouldn't even be able to carry the thing!" Cerena countered, the shit seemed insulted by this, Gendry had to bite back his laughter.

"Yes I would!" He shouted defiantly.

"Prove it." She picked up a sword one from the wall with ease and handed it to him. The Prince couldn't even hold it for more than a minute without his arm shaking and slumping to his side. Gendry covered his mouth, this time he couldn't hold the laughter in. Cerena must have heard him as she abruptly turned to him. He immediately stood up and bowed before the Prince.

"Why do you always insist on keeping this gutter rat around?" Joffrey asked in spite. By now, that wasn't even an insult to him, the shit said the same thing every time he came round.

"Your grace, he's hardly a gutter rat, he's my father's squire and he can hold a great sword." She didn't find the shit's insult too amusing.

"Oh really?" Joffrey questioned Cerena's claim. She beckoned for him to come over and handed him the sword. He spun it in his hands and held it for a while. He was tempted to raise and eyebrow at the shit but decided against it, he didn't want any trouble for Cerena.

"Speed will favour you more in the battlefield than power." She said simply.

"What good will speed do me when I'm caught in a power struggle?" He questioned her statement.

"You'll never be caught in a power struggle if you're quick. Not all men need to be as strong as oxen in order to fight, some men are not built for such things but it doesn't make them any worse at fighting. Instead of power, some men have speed, take for instance the best fighter in the realm, your Uncle. Do you honestly think he'll be able to beat your father in a power struggle? Ser Jaime gets his power from speed, and so will you my prince." She explained, holding his attention by gently gripping his wrist with one hand and rubbing his cheek with the other, a gesture Gendry couldn't help but cringe at. With those manipulative words he seemed completely convinced in what she'd said, and had become flustered with her gestures. **_She sure is good at controlling people, that's for sure._** "Gendry could you fetch me Talons Flame?" She asked softly. It wasn't long before he found it and handed the thin sword to her. She caught his stare which said, **_you're actually going to give this spoiled brat Talons Flame, it's your sword!_** She shook her head at him and gave him a look that said, **_no you're going to forge the prince one that looks just like it._ **

She unsheathed the fine sword and lay it across her spread apart hands, it truly was a stunning sword. The red tint to the steel made it look almost... magic. Joffrey and Gendry's eyes alike gleamed at the sight of it. The sword was just as beautiful as she was. "A sword like this will suit you better than any great sword, my prince." She was just about to sheathe it when the prince interrupted.

"May I hold it?" She held the blade out to the prince and he took it eagerly. The prick looks like he just got a new toy. He swished the sword in the air, the excited expression never left his stupid face. "Excellent..." He said to himself more than anyone else. "Yes, I shall have a sword just like this, and I'll name it... Lion's Tooth!" He exclaimed, throwing the sword up by the hilt one last time before he had to give it back to her. She sheathed it and gave it back to Gendry to put away.

"We shall have one made just for you, it should be ready before we leave for Winterfell. Farewell, my prince." She concluded. The boy seemed to remember his manners now. He bowed and took Cerena's hand to kiss before leaving with the two Kingsguard stationed just outside.

"What a ponse." Gendry muttered when he was certain the Prince was out of earshot, heading back to the forge to start work.

"I worry for that boy..." He turned and raised an eyebrow. "I worry for the day he becomes King." Gendry then understood.

"Let's hope King Robert lives for a very long time." She nodded. The two worked for hours, she would add final touches to the Stark and Greyjoy boy's swords and he made a start on Joffrey's sword. For Theon's she had the idea of wrapping a kraken's tentacles around the base of the blade to reflect the Greyjoy sigil. For Robb's she had a weirwood for the hilt with a wolves face, they were two very marvellous swords for two highborns no doubt they would appreciate them. It wasn't until Gendry had finished the metal work for Lion's Tooth did Cerena's father come to the Smith's. His face expressed just how tired the man was, with bags under his eyes and half the hairs on his head turned silver.

"How is the progress on the swords?" He asked quickly. Cerena simply handed the two swords over to him. He inspected them, blade hilt and all looking them up and down. "Very nice work, you two. The Starks will certainly be impressed." He ruffled Cerena and Gendry's hair like a proud father would do to his son, and for the first time in a while, Gendry felt his work was truly amazing. He remembered the first time he'd ever set foot in this place, young, starving and weak, led by a man hooded in purple. The purple man handed Diego a purse and that was that, the deal was done. The Ignis family treated him with nothing but kindness, showing him the ropes of smithing and courtesies all the while. He didn't ever want to leave this family's company. "Oh, how is Lady Sansa's dress coming along?"

"Finished, I'll go fetch it." And with that, she left. Lord Ignis was a tall man with chestnut skin, darker than his daughter's and short, greying hairs that would curl at the ends and a beard to match. His face would droop with sadness, stress and weariness and he wore lengthy black robes, partly because he was called Lord of the Ashes. Gendry thought back to the day Cerena had come home bloodstained and a mess. She wouldn't eat for days, only sing and write. When he learned the reason why he had half a mind to join her on her strike from living. Her mother had died, Lord Diego's wife. That was the other reason he wore black.

"If I had my Island still, I would name you my heir. You know that right?" Gendry was shocked by these words. **_I'm a lowborn bastard, I'll never own any lands._ **

"There's Brother Isle still."

"That's my brother's Island, not mine."

"It doesn't have to be anymore, you're close with the King, get him to name you as the new Lord." Diego only laughed.

"And start a war against my brother with soldiers I don't even have? Don't make me laugh son."

"The Lannisters-"

"The Lannisters have done us many kindnesses but that doesn't mean they'll risk their men in an unnecessary battle." Diego interjected. That made Gendry shut his mouth. Cerena had finally arrived with Lady Sansa's dress and it was her best work by far. The dress itself was a dull blue with stunning grey flowery patterns all over and long flowing sleeves. She'd made a cloak to match, it a forward-facing dire wolf print on the back with spiralling patterns all around it.

"I do wonder what the Stark's reaction would be with all these gifts." Gendry blurted.

"About that." There was a serious tone in Diego's voice. "We've heard troubling tales about how Lady Catelyn treats her bastard boy. Bringing another bastard amongst her midst would only insult her." Gendry felt very let down by this, almost rejected. He only muttered a simple 'oh' before storming off up to his chambers. It always has to come down to the fact that I was born a bastard.


End file.
